New Old Cold!

I stood there
Anaesthetized and
Frozen to the sidewalk,
Engulfed by the echo
Of a whistling windchill
That found my skin
Through layers
And overalls.
Cold and fear
Amalgamated with
Pinched memories
That spiked
Like shards
Of uneven glass
Splintering through
Follicles of gooseflesh.
I pictured his kind face
Like a hologram
That stood out
And blended
Within the crowd.
Prickled skin
Softened to faith,
And sensation
Kicked in
As I held that
Accustomed cup
Of sublime heat.
I quickly learned
To jumpstart
My world
To the present.
To the love that
Brought me back
To a country
Long left behind.
When suddenly
Those relentlessly
Nipping reflections
Of minus degree'd
Hardships
Melted softly,
Like the season's
First snowflake
That assimilated
Into this
Untouched mug
Of caffeinated delight.







* For 3WW

** For Theme Thursday

*** Photo Credit: Design-Dautore

Vapours of Adolescence

They had been assigned to his supervision today. But with an easel, pencils and an open landscape before him, their mother's words seemed like a distant blur.

She picked up the soiled ochre-stained end of his old habit and tried salvaging what was left of those listless smoke rings. Prodding the bolstered side between her lips, she clenched her teeth into that bitter sponge.

And waited.
For his disapproval.

His nubile eighteen-year-old mind looked through her at the hillock beyond.
She inhaled the innards of the tobacco filter and coughed out faint puffs of juvenile rejection.

With a slanting gaze she held on to the cigarette.
His disinterest gave Lolita her muse.

* For 3WW

**Photo Credit: 'Candy Cigarette' by Sally Mann